A wonderful and powerful blog, Jake… as a Late Bloomer myself!
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
As I reflect on the day that is passing
I think about where you have been in the midst of it, Lord
Despite exhaustion, you have revived
Despite frustration, you have brought calm
Despite hurt, you have brought healing
Despite brokenness, you have brought wholeness
Despite darkness, your light shines
As my eyelids grow heavy, I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
Beautiful ❣️❣️
Why should this martyr be the saint of Love?
Here is a sonnet I composed in honour of the original St. Valentine. I notice some FB posts implying that as an early Christian martyr he has nothing to do with Romantic Love and should be dissociated from it. I believe that on the contrary there is every reason why he should be the patron saint of Love and this sonnet explores why.
As always you can hear the poem by clicking on either the title or the ‘play’ button. This poem is published in my most recent collection ‘Parable and Paradox’
St Valentine
Why should this martyr be the saint of love?
A quiet man of unexpected courage,
A celibate who celebrated marriage,
An ageing priest with nothing left to prove,
He loved the young and made their plight his cause.
He called for fruitfulness, not waste in wars,
He…
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“Whether we dance literally or metaphorically, the dance is a symbol for forgetting our self-consciousness and letting ourselves be overcome with the joy and love that beat at the heart of everything.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD The Wisdom of Mary and the Sacred Feminine – An Online Self-Study Retreat
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
As the winds howled today
I thought of those who have no shelter
As I thought of those for whom each day is a struggle
I prayed for God’s peace in a tangible way
Lord, challenge and equip us to share your love
Lord, challenge and equip us to share your peace
Lord, in the words of St Francis:
…make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
In your mercy, hear this humble prayer
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
Well said, Shirley ❤️❤️
When Jesus said that it was “Easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24) – He must have been thinking about those who have no concept of the burdens which are placed on people, when they do not get paid. Take Wilbur Ross, who thought that employees in the Federal Work Force could easily get a loan to tide them over the five weeks of working without pay. Without a frame of reference relative to the experience of ordinary people, it is difficult to have empathy or compassion. The assumption a loan was easily available showed how little Ross knew about the economic rules for people who live pay check to pay check.
What Ross said made a lot of sense in the space and world of the wealthy he inhabits…
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Thank you, Jeannie ❤️❤️
“Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love.” ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky
espirational.com/2019/02/13/love-the-whole-world-with-an-all-embracing-love/
…Theologian Karl Barth said it’s not the wrath of God we should fear, but rather the love of God, Long said, because “the love of God will strip away everything that stands between us and God….
— Read on www.presbyterianmission.org/story/a-new-suit-and-an-act-of-contrition/
A beautiful and poignant reflection, Sally ❤️❤️
Caring and compassion are two things I want my characters to discover in whatever world they must exist. Everyone encounters conflict, but if we can find those who will have empathy and stand by us, then somehow it is easier to make it through to the other side, no matter how much gets thrown down in our path. Just knowing you are in someone’s prayers, that you arise in their thoughts each day is powerful.
It could be that shared bar of Mon Aimee Chocolate, or the handmade card that greets you when you check into a hotel in a city where you’ve never been before.
Or the guy at the exit to the rental car place who senses your unease and hands you a bottle of water, calling you by name and telling you that you’ll be just fine.
Perhaps it is the hiker coming down the trail, just…
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The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
A long day of ministry and meetings
With times for fellowship and renewal
As I consider the work you have called me to, Lord
It is a sacred privilege to walk with so many
We walk together through good times
We walk together through difficult times
We walk together through the Valley of the Shadows
As I prepare for bed, I lift this circling prayer
Protect us, Lord
Keep peace within and evil out
Keep serenity within and chaos out
Keep love within and fear out
For all of your children, I lift this humble prayer
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
